Regardless of the pandemic and COVID-19, students will be required to take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test in the 2020-21 school year, according to a report from Austin American Statesman.
Texas will continue to require students to take the state-mandated, standardized exam, but with some changes. Among the reported changes to the STAAR test would be including an expanded testing window and making adjustments to the way the State’s accountability system works “given we lost last year’s data and it’s going to be harder to calculate growth,” according to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath.
Our children have already had so many pressures thrown at them and this news is both startling and concerning. I think we all had hoped that it would be canceled.
The STAAR test is administered to students from third grade through high school. Advocacy group Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment already asked the Texas Education Agency to waive the STAAR test, according to the Statesman.
On June 16, TEA announced an optional extended online testing window for STAAR and STAAR Alternate 2 for the 2020-21 school year due to the impact of the current public health crisis. The testing calendar for STAAR paper administrations has not been changed; according to TEA, the test dates for paper remain the same.
On June 23, the TEA released new guidelines for attendance, remote learning and personal protective equipment amid reopening schools in the fall. Final TEA documents showed school districts will receive masks, thermometers and hand sanitizer, but it will be up to the districts to distribute them.
Moms, we would love for you to weigh in… do you think the STAAR test should carry on or be canceled? Kids are going to have a whole host of problems in the upcoming months with a completely new school environment and now the stress of the standardized test.
So ridiculous. Those tests are just a way for the state to make money.
What is the purpose of the STAAR test? My kids attend private school. So these test are not administered to them.
My kids have always opted out and will continue to do so. This doesn’t have to affect anyone.
It is ridiculous that they are making only TEXAS students take the STAAR texas. How is it possible that only TEXAS students have to take the STAAR test, honestly I feel that it’s not right for the ones that is at home taking it virtually because they are not giving or getting all the proper learning skills they need to be taking a STAAR test at home. Nevertheless, if other states are no longer able to take the test. We should also be exempt from taking the STAAR test.